Talk:William Shatner

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[edit] Ghostwriting

  • There seems to be a small dispute about whether or not Shatner actually wrote the novels that bear his name, or whether they were ghost-written. I believe that if Orangemike wants to include the bit about the novels being ghost written ([1]) he needs to include a reference. --Wolf530 06:59, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The paragraph about Shatner's potential guest-appearance on Enterprise is listed twice, albeit it in slightly different form. I'll see if I can combine the two. Also, until someone has good reason to claim otherwise, I'm deleting the "ghost-written" remark. --Feitclub 04:28, Sep 15, 2004 (UTC)

Sadly, though I have a strong reference as to who ghostwrote many of the William Shatner books, I am bound to not use it. These people are contractually obliged to never reveal their involvement, with the penalties being both monetary and in the loss of future work. You will note that Shatner dedicates his novels to well-established series writers. This is not coincidence. And it may be helpful for those searching for the evidence I won't give. (sorry!) However, if anyone does find evidence and chooses to edit this entry, I urge you to weigh the ethical implications and the potential impact to working writers' lives.--Drakkenfyre 06:58, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Jewish

There is no mention of Shatner's faith on this page. I wasn't aware of it myself until about 2 minutes ago. Not sure how best to mention it. In the trivia section? I'm not sure it's a well known fact. Mintguy (T) 02:57, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I knew it from the Simpsons ten years ago (if that can be counted as a source =p ). Did he ever take American citizenship? If not -- I sure hope he didn't do the Molson thing if he did -- as a Tuquistani, I don't like him categorised as "American writer" and "Jewish American". Kwantus 07:18, 2005 Jan 15 (UTC)
Both he and Nimoy are Jewish (remember Adam Sandler's Chanukkah song?) but I fail to see how Shatner can be regarded as "American" since he frequently mentions his Canadian heritage whenever someone mistakes him for an American. They joked about it as recently as "Free Enterprise" and that "Invasion Iowa" show. So I'm going to remove the "American" categories. If anyone knows otherwise, please explain and revert. --Feitclub 06:40, Apr 10, 2005 (UTC)
Hi! This article states that Mr. Shatner is of Ukrainian-Jewish ancestry. He is in the category "Jewish-Canadian", but not under "Ukrainian Canadian". I only mention his because he is listed on Ukrainian Canadian as a "famous Ukrainian Canadian". Now I realise that the term "Ukrainian Canadian" usually refers to people who are ethnically Ukrainian, rather than people from other backgrounds that are from the territory of Ukraine. However, I'm not opposed to putting him in the Category of Ukrainian Canadians, but he may not be the strongest example to put on the main page. Does anyone have any more info on this? Does anyone know how he self-identifies? For now I won't change anything, but my plan would be to add him to the category "Ukrainian Canadian" but remove him from the list on the main page for that ethnicity. Any comments? Kevlar67 10:06, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

I think it's great that you brought it up though. If Mr. Shatner recognises his ukrainian "geographical" heritage then fine, I think he's a jewish Ukrainian-Canadian. Someone try email his manager or something :P I do not think that just because someone might not have xxx genetics to belong to a certain nationality. Let's say an ethnic chinese person is born in Iran and then moves to Sweden at age 12 and lives here for 50 years. This person wants to consider himself a Chinese Iranian-Swede :) I'm sure his children will consider themselves Chinese Swedes or vice versa. I guess, to me it's up to what claims the person have and what he wants. So as I said earlier...

I guess a person can't do anything about ethnic heritage, but defenitely nationality and geographical heritage can be discussed and is more up to the person.

213.141.89.53 (talk) 01:17, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Real life Astronaut

I'm sorry but I take issue with including this line in the opening section. "In 2008, William Shatner will become a full-fledged astronaut, as he will fly into suborbital space aboard a Virgin Galactic private spacecraft." It's an event a reasonable way in the future and as such, in this case, probably shouldn't be in an encyclopaedia entry especially since many things can happen between now and then. Ben W Bell 14:33, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Besides, isn't "astronaut" a term devoted to the fine employees of NASA? Is any slob who sits in a rocket an astronaut? I always thought an astronaut was someone who has been trained for the profession of being a space traveller. I respect Mr. Shatner but he's not a spaceman by trade. -Kasreyn 12:51, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
No, an astronaut is the general term for any person who achieves extra-atmospheric flight. There are a good few Air Force test pilots that have earned their astronaut wings during flights that took them so high they were considered to be outside the atmosphere. --Xander the Potato Vanquisher 18:17, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
I disagree. The derivation of the word means star sailor and the dictionary defines an astronaut as such. A passenger on a spacecraft would just be a space traveler or something like that. Those test pilots were flying the craft in question so they would be astronauts. Bombot 09:04, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
Unfortunately for you, you're wrong: the term Astronaut does in fact apply to anyone who has been higher than a certain critical altitude - I believe it's around 60-65 miles in the United States, and a bit higher for the international definition. 24.61.36.80 (talk) 17:53, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Keeping America Strong with William Shatner

I find it very intriguing and noble of Mr. William Shatner to not only host the Television show “Keeping America Strong”, but to actively promote small entrepreneurial businesses.

Right, these small businesses have to pay for the "opportunity" to talk with Shatner. I doubt he's doing this for a noble cause.

[edit] Pictures

Does anyone have a photo of Shatner from Boston Legal, or indeed anything from the last forty years? DJ Clayworth 15:59, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

Done :) RadioKirk 23:01, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] VSS Enterprise

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it ironic that the man who played Capt. Kirk will fly aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS (presumably, Virgin Space Ship) Enterprise?! ;) RadioKirk 23:05, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Not ironic . . . inevitable!  :D KDoug 01:50, 21 October 2005 (UTC)
Well, I was referring to the Virgin part, not the Enterprise part... ;) RadioKirk 21:58, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Removed the bit about the VSS Enterprise trip, as it false information.[2] dc 09:21, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Singing Career

Can someone please add an entry about Shatner's career as a singer? I think many people enjoy this facet of him as an entertainer.

is it worth mentioning his cameo apperance on "Fear of Pop", Ben Folds' electronica weirdness of 1999?

In the top biography section opening the 2nd paragraph is the line "He has since worked as a musician, bestselling author, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman,". Are his contributions as a musician more prominent than the other categories? Somehow it seems out of place. Bbagot 17:58, 10 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Speech

Can't we. Add more about. His famous. Vocal style. On Star Trek? Carolynparrishfan 13:42, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

Technically a person is American if they are from these areas: North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean, since those areas are considered the America's.It's the United States "of" America. It's funny how we can call an native american from south america, but when people say Americans the suddenly think it only refers to the people of the United States, but infact it can technically refer to other groups of people within the Americas.

[edit] Twilight Zone

I've added a reference to Shatner's performances in "The Twilight Zone", which was as far as I can tell two episodes ("Nick of Time" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", two of the better episodes). -Kasreyn 17:24, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Those are the only two Twillight Zone" episodes that I am aware of that he appeared in. I also added his starring role in an episode of "The Outer Limits." ZincOrbie 21:39, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes, I do believe he was only in the two "The Twilight Zone" episodes. Michael 05:17, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Memorable quotes"

As of this writing, the article page includes this complete quote from the Molson parody:

"I'm not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-170... (some audience members say "1"), or own a phaser. I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock (picture of Dr. Benjamin Spock is shown on screen behind him). And no, I've never had green alien sex, but I'm sure it'd be quite an evening. (Pomp and Circumstance begins playing.) I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'live long and prosper', I seriously mean it when I say, 'get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg (nude picture of Dr. Ginsberg shown on screen). And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like Every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And I believe in priceline.com, where you never have to pay full price for airline tickets, hotels, and car rentals! I've appeared onstage at Stratford, at Carnegie Hall, Albert Hall, and the Monkland Theatre in NDG. And, yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but... I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!"

An edited audio file (you can tell if you listen carefully to "Pomp and Circumstance") removes the priceline.com reference and the stage appearances. I have the unedited video for anyone who wishes to see it. RadioKirk talk to me 01:45, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

See addition "I am a Canadian" parody citation below.

[edit] Citizenship?

Is Shatner still a Canadian citizen?--MarshallStack 05:04, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Photo.

I guess the old one was removed for violation of copyright? Please, someone, get something better than this one. A recent photo is more appropriate for an article on someone who's still alive. -Kasreyn 01:38, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 12 O'Clock High and other Early TV Work

I have seen Mr Shatner in an episode of (I think) 12 O'Clock High, a 1960s era B&W TV show about WW2 pilots. In the episode, he plays an angry pilot of German ancestry.

I'm short on details, but it was definately him. Perhaps a researcher could find more?

A quick little bit of research turned up a reference to this on IMDB, and it seems like there's a lot of early TV work listed there that isn't here - is that policy, or should that data be moved into here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.103.226.30 (talk • contribs)

[edit] How William Shatner Changed the World

Mr Shatner recently did a program for Discovery, the theme of which is that he is responsible for many of the technical advances of the late 20th century. It is entirely tongue-in-cheek, but it does give many examples of fictional Star Trek tech becoming reality when real scientists and engineers are inspired to create what they saw on Star Trek.

Again, I'm short on details here, but that should be enough of a hint to get a researcher started. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.103.226.30 (talk • contribs)

I'm watching this right now on the Discovery Channel, but the name is changed to "How Techies Changed the World"... strange... 85.167.133.203 20:10, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

The page is up...'How William Shatner Changed the World' , Rewt241

[edit] Wiped out financially?

The section of the biography about Shatner's Post-Star Trek career sounds melodramatic. It's difficult to believe that a divorce settlement and being typecast left him "with very little money and acting prospects, living in a truck bed camper" down by the river considering all the TV & film work he was doing plus Star Trek residuals. If the only source for this information is the Shatner himself, this information should be prefaced with "claimed". Ghosts&empties 14:20, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

  • I know this question was a while ago, but since it was never answered... The original Star Trek actors did not receive ANY residuals from the original series, just straight salaries. I don't have a source, but I believe several of them have mentioned this in their memoirs. And the point of that paragraph is that he WASN'T doing any TV or film work then... it dried up after Star Trek was canceled. (Although that may have been clarified after this question was posted.) -- CWesling (talk) 03:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Regardless according to his IMDB page he had steady piece work from 1969 through 1979 when Star Trek the motion Picture was released. I doubt he was forced to live in poverty as implied do we know how long he lived in the trailer and during what time period his credits are quite respectible during the gap....a credible source would help otherwise if he lived in a trailer for a month who cares?

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) .... Admiral James T. Kirk ... aka Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition (USA: DVD title) Disaster on the Coastliner (1979) (TV) .... Stuart Peters Riel (1979) (TV) .... The Barker Crash (1978) (TV) .... Carl Tobias ... aka Crash of Flight 401 Little Women (1978) (TV) .... Professor Friedrich Bhaer The Third Walker (1978) .... Munro Maclean Land of No Return (1978) .... Curt Benell ... aka Challenge to Survive ... aka Snowman (USA: TV title) The Bastard (1978) (TV) .... Paul Revere ... aka The Kent Chronicles "How the West Was Won" (1978) (mini) TV mini-series .... Capt. Harrison "The Oregon Trail" (2 episodes, 1977)

   - The Scarlet Ribbon (1977) TV episode 
   - Return of the Baby (1977) TV episode

Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) .... Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen "Testimony of Two Men" (1977) (mini) TV mini-series .... Adrian Ferrier A Whale of a Tale (1977) .... Dr. Jack Fredericks ... aka Joey and the Whale Columbo: Fade in to Murder (1976) (TV) .... Detective Lucerne/Ward Fowler Perilous Voyage (1976) (TV) .... Steve Monroe ... aka The Revolution of Antonio DeLeon (USA) "Barbary Coast" .... Jeff Cable (13 episodes, 1975-1976)

   - The Dawson Marker (1976) TV episode .... Jeff Cable
   - Mary Had More Than a Little (1976) TV episode .... Jeff Cable
   - The Day Cable Was Hanged (1975) TV episode .... Jeff Cable
   - Sharks Eat Sharks (1975) TV episode .... Jeff Cable
   - Arson and Old Lace (1975) TV episode .... Jeff Cable
     (8 more)

The Devil's Rain (1975) .... Mark Preston Barbary Coast (1975) (TV) .... Jeff Cable "The Rookies" .... Luke Harris (1 episode, 1975)

   - The Hunting Ground (1975) TV episode .... Luke Harris

The Tenth Level (1975) (TV) .... Prof. Stephen Turner "Police Woman" .... Mark Ciprio (1 episode, 1974)

   - Smack (1974) TV episode .... Mark Ciprio

"Amy Prentiss" .... Detective Parkins / ... (2 episodes, 1974)

   - Baptism of Fire (1974) TV episode .... Parkins
   - Prime Suspect (????) TV episode .... Detective Parkins

"Police Story" .... Sergeant Bill Keitlinger (1 episode, 1974)

   - Love, Mabel (1974) TV episode .... Sergeant Bill Keitlinger

Impulse (1974) .... Matt Stone ... aka I Love to Kill ... aka Want a Ride, Little Girl? "Kodiak" (1 episode, 1974)

   - The Last Enemy (1974) TV episode

"Petrocelli" .... Adam North (1 episode, 1974)

   - Edge of Evil (1974) TV episode .... Adam North

"Kung Fu" .... Capt. Brandywine Gage (1 episode, 1974)

   - A Small Beheading (1974) TV episode .... Capt. Brandywine Gage

Big Bad Mama (1974) .... William J. Baxter "Ironside" .... Bill Parkins / ... (4 episodes, 1970-1974) ... aka The Raymond Burr Show (USA: syndication title)

   - Amy Prentiss: Part 1 (1974) TV episode .... Bill Parkins
   - Amy Prentiss: Part 2 (1974) TV episode .... Bill Parkins
   - Walls Are Waiting (1971) TV episode .... Don Brand
   - Little Jerry Jessup (1970) TV episode .... Marty Jessup

"The Six Million Dollar Man" .... Josh Lang (1 episode, 1974)

   - Burning Bright (1974) TV episode .... Josh Lang

"The Magician" .... Ed Cassidy (1 episode, 1974)

   - The Illusion of the Queen's Gambit (1974) TV episode .... Ed Cassidy

Pray for the Wildcats (1974) (TV) .... Warren Summerfield "Star Trek" .... Captain James T. Kirk (16 episodes, 1973-1974) ... aka Star Trek: TAS (USA: promotional abbreviation) ... aka Star Trek: The Animated Adventures (USA) ... aka Star Trek: The Animated Series ... aka Star Trek: The Animated Series-The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (USA: DVD box title) ... aka The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek (USA: video box title)

   - The Jihad (1974) TV episode .... Captain James T. Kirk
   - The Eye of the Beholder (1974) TV episode .... Captain James T. Kirk
   - The Slaver Weapon (1973) TV episode .... Captain James T. Kirk
   - The Ambergris Element (1973) TV episode .... Captain James T. Kirk
   - The Time Trap (1973) TV episode .... Captain James T. Kirk
     (11 more)

Indict and Convict (1974) (TV) .... Sam Belden Pioneer Woman (1973) (TV) .... John Sergeant ... aka Pioneers "Dr. Simon Locke" .... Joe Flatt (1 episode, 1973) ... aka Police Surgeon (USA: new title)

   - Ten Kilos to Nowhere (1973) TV episode .... Joe Flatt

"Mannix" .... Adam Langer (1 episode, 1973)

   - Search for a Whisper (1973) TV episode .... Adam Langer

The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973) (TV) .... Paul Kovalik "Barnaby Jones" .... Fred Williams / ... (1 episode, 1973)

   - To Catch a Dead Man (1973) TV episode .... Phil Carlyle/Fred Williams

Go Ask Alice (1973) (TV) .... Sam Incident on a Dark Street (1973) (TV) .... Deaver G. Wallace "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" .... Richard Burrell (1 episode, 1973) ... aka The New Doctors

   - A Tightrope to Tomorrow (1973) TV episode .... Richard Burrell

"Marcus Welby, M.D." (1 episode, 1972) ... aka Robert Young, Family Doctor

   - Heartbeat for Yesterday (1972) TV episode

"Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law" .... Gary (1 episode, 1972)

   - Five Will Get You Six (1972) TV episode .... Gary

"Mission: Impossible" .... Joseph Conrad / ... (2 episodes, 1971-1972)

   - Cocaine (1972) TV episode .... Joseph Conrad
   - Encore (1971) TV episode .... Thomas Kroll

"Hawaii Five-O" .... Sam Tolliver (1 episode, 1972) ... aka McGarrett (USA: rerun title)

   - You Don't Have to Kill to Get Rich, But It Helps (1972) TV episode .... Sam Tolliver

"The Sixth Sense" .... Edwin Danbury (1 episode, 1972)

   - Can a Dead Man Strike from the Grave? (1972) TV episode .... Edwin Danbury

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972) (TV) .... George Stapleton ... aka Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles The People (1972) (TV) .... Dr. Curtis "Cade's County" .... Jack Pilgrim (1 episode, 1971)

   - The Armageddon Contract (1971) TV episode .... Jack Pilgrim

Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law (1971) (TV) .... District Attorney Dave Blankenship ... aka A Pattern of Morality (USA) "Storefront Lawyers" (1 episode, 1971) ... aka Men at Law (USA: new title)

   - One American (1971) TV episode

Vanished (1971) (TV) .... Dave Paulick "The Name of the Game" .... Peter / ... (2 episodes, 1970)

   - The Glory Shouter (1970) TV episode .... Ronald Payden
   - Tarot (1970) TV episode .... Peter

"The F.B.I." .... Arthur Majors (1 episode, 1970)

   - Antennae of Death (1970) TV episode .... Arthur Majors

Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970) (TV) .... John Adams ... aka John Wayne's Tribute to America (USA: DVD box title) The Andersonville Trial (1970) (TV) .... Lt. Col. N.P. Chipman "Medical Center" .... Dr. Eli Neily (1 episode, 1970)

   - The Combatants (1970) TV episode .... Dr. Eli Neily

"Paris 7000" (1 episode, 1970)

   - The Shattered Idol (1970) TV episode

Sole Survivor (1970) (TV) .... Lt. Col. Josef Gronke —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.74.24.2 (talk) 19:43, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] James E. Morris

William Shatner endorses a western New York lawfirm, James E. Morris on local commercials Rubedeau 04:10, 7 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] didn't his wife die?

Didn't his wife die under mysterious circumstances? I can't find anything about this in the article. --169.231.18.197 09:35, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

I added something about this, and it was taken away... so I've gone in and added it again. It's too big a part of his biography not to discuss it.--Multiverse 08:40, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

And your new version is fine; in fact, it used to be there, and I didn't notice it was gone. Your original edit—the entire 911 call transcript—would not be appropriate in an article about Shatner, only (perhaps) in an article specific to Nerine's death. :) RadioKirk (u|t|c) 19:11, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Weren't Shatner and his wife separated at the time of her death and heading for divorce? Does anyone know more about this? Perhaps the word separated or estranged should be mentioned somewhere? Bbagot 17:50, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rocket Man Cover

I think something should be included about his cover of Rocket Man by Elton John. There's more information about it here: Rocket Man

Did anyone else notice that in his cover.....taht Bill didnt inhale his cigerette nor did he even pretend...as soon as it leaves his mouth so does the smoke

[edit] William Shatners full name?

Does anybody know what William Shatners middle name is? OR if he even has one for that matter?

He has one. At the very least, it's "William Shatner". Don't know if he has a middle name, however. —XSG 20:54, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm claiming it's "Tiberius." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.251.251.49 (talk) 02:50, August 30, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Created "References in Popular Culture"

Some of the things listed as facts are less facts about William Shatner and more about how William Shatner is reflected in popular culture. To differentiate, I've created a new section. I've also cleaned up several of the facts to sound a bit more authoratative. —XSG 07:34, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

The English rock group The Wedding Present have a song named after Shatner on their 1987 debut album George Best. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.75.243.226 (talk) 21:44, 4 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] William Shatners Degree

Did William Shatner have more than a Bachelors Degree and also, what degree was it? B.A. or a B.Sc? Amlder20 17:22, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

It was a B.Comm. Also, the Shatner Building referendum at McGill University was in 1992, not 1993. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.234.71.183 (talk) 10:45, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How about Loblaw's Commercials

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loblaws 199.43.48.131 05:05, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "How...Changed World" Quote Clarification Needed...

In Memorable quotes section, there is a quote from the "History Channel documentary 'How William Shatner Changed the World'". Well, I've just compiled the page on that topic and watched the whole thing and don't remember such a quote even close to it. I might have to go through the documentary again and delete the quote if warranted.Rewt241

[edit] Show Me The Money

Someone needs to add in information about hosting this new game show that will premier on November 22 (a preview show was on this past Tuesday night at 9:30) on ABC.

[edit] Bill Shantener clip from the 2005 AFI Life Achievement Award

This is a clip from the 2005 AFI Life Achievement Award where Bill Shatner begins the ceremonies for George Lucas. It is brilliant and not included in the list of TV appearances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p55YD8QhQ3o

[edit] "that same year"

Can someone clarify in the article what year "that same year" is supposed to mean? Heatherfire 15:15, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

You're right, the intervening sentence made that confusing; it's now fixed. :) RadioKirk (u|t|c) 18:35, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "I am a Canadian" Parody

citation (link to video clip) http://www.justforlaughs.ca/videos/search/1027-willam-shatner-jfl-i-am-canadian?search_terms=I+am+a+Canadian Could someone with "rights" please add this citation to the article?

It's not the complete video; I have it, I'll see if I can upload it somewhere. RadioKirk (u|t|c) 21:11, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
No need; I made a link from Google video just now.--Planetary 08:07, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
Most kind, thank you. :) RadioKirk (u|t|c) 19:01, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
Very welcome.--Planetary 19:52, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Author

Does anyone have more information to add about Shatner's literary works? Apart from mentioning it in the biography part, information on the subject appears to be lacking. Bbagot 17:54, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction about the kiss

Shatner has claimed in his memoirs that no one on the set felt the kiss to be very important until a network executive raised fears of a Southern boycott, and the kiss was almost written out of the script. Gene Roddenberry supposedly made a deal, that the scene would be shot with the kiss, and with a cut-away shot which merely implied a kiss, and then a decision would be made on which to use. The footage of the actual kiss was eventually used. Some cast members have written that this was because Shatner deliberately ruined the take for the implied-kiss footage by looking into the camera and crossing his eyes to force the real kiss to be used.

If it was "not felt to be very important" why did Shatner "deliberately ruin the take" and "force the real kiss to be used"? --Uncle Ed 18:00, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

There's not necessarily a contradiction: "no one on the set felt the kiss to be very important until a network executive raised fears of a Southern boycott". Possibly after that, some people on the set (including but maybe not limited to Shatner) decided it was important. --Jtl 06:31, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Could someone please fix this?

In the section titled "Early stage, film, and television work", the entire first paragraph is one large run-on sentence. In addition to being long, it includes the bizarre statement that students were "startled to see pictures ... playing a wide range of Shakespearean roles..." I, too, would be startled to see such a thing, but I don't think this is what was intended here. I would fix it myself, but I have no idea what the intent was. Roachmeister 04:59, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paintball

Isn't he an avid paintball fan? Here is one story about him, even with a picture of him suited up:http://www.face-full.com/william_shatner.php

[edit] Current Photo is Horrible

Doesn't anybody have a better photo they're willing to submit? The current one is awkward in many ways. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.53.143.46 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Common People Ballet

The Milwaukee Ballet recently made a ballet set to Shatner's last album. It was choreographed by Margo Sappington of OH! CALCUTTA! fame. I think Shatner is making a film about the project. Seems noteworthy, could this be added to his article? He mentions it in this interview: http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/movies/news/n12380.htm

[edit] Hair

What, no mention other than pop culture JOKES about his hair? I think it needs some sort of backstory - no where on the net can I find info about this. Come on peeps!--135.214.154.104 22:09, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relationships with other actors

This section doesn't seem to serve much purpose - the only other actor mentioned is Leonard Nimoy, and the current rendition doesn't talk about Shatner's relationship with him, only the things they have in common. I think it should be deleted... anyone else have thoughts? Surfeited 05:47, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I agree, the section didn't make sense - I've removed it. The section used to have more content, but it was unsourced. I'm not sure what to do with this sourced info:

Nimoy and Shatner are both vegetarians.[1] Both Shatner and Nimoy are of the same ethnicity, Ashkenazi Jewish, and their birthdays are separated by only 4 days -- Shatner's is March 22, 1931 and Nimoy's is March 26, 1931. The two men also both suffered from chronic tinnitus after getting too close to an exploding special effect while working on Star Trek in the episode "Arena." Shatner's was almost debilitating, but this was mitigated by retraining therapy.[2]

It might also be worth pointing out how much he is reviled by some of his fellow actors from Trek, mst notable, Takei, Doohan and Koenig. - Arcayne (cast a spell) 22:11, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The lead

I don't think the fact that William Shatner didn't do something (ie. didn't get a part in a movie) is so important that it should go in the lead. There are many other things that he hasn't done. We don't even mention those in the article, let alone the lead. Sancho 16:28, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Also, I believe the piece about not being offered a role in the new Star Trek movie isn't important enough be in the lead, but should be under the Star Trek career. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.59.164.216 (talk) 20:47, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Language inter-wikis

I've created the Malay article on William Shatner, which is currently in need of full translation to Malay, and this article needs to be inserted with [[ms:William Shatner]] at the bottom of the page. 60.48.114.78 (talk) 18:51, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Commercials: Especially World of Warcraft

Recently, Mr. Shatner has appeared in a TV commercial featuring Blizzards popular World of Warcraft video game as a character representaion. Could this be included as Pop Culture appearances? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kyotodesertfox (talk • contribs) 06:30, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Role in "NEXT"

I see that in this article, William Shatner has been listen as playing a role in the movie "NEXT" (2007). I am curious to know what the source of this information is. I searched IMDB and there appears to be no connection between Shatner and NEXT. Information, anyone? 203.194.42.217 (talk) 09:02, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Friendship with Other Actors" section needs cleanup and revision

I took a stab at some style edits for the Leonard Nimoy paragraph of this article, but the whole section reads like a bad regurgitation of a People magazine article. There are no citations for any of the claims or quotes from Nimoy, and the writing itself is decidedly in a gushy gossip column tone. Can any Shatner / Nimoy / Trek fans take a look, and try to source the quotes in this section? I do think it's worthwhile to have a section on the relationship between Nimoy and Shatner, since they are by far the most popular and famous actors of the original series. But the section as it stands -- in stark contrast to the rest of this entry, which is pretty well-written and documented -- is awful both as a piece of writing, and as NPOV encyclopedic entry. StrangeAttractor (talk) 08:11, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

I've also added an unreferenced tag to the section. I certainly hope someone comes along with some citations, as it would be a shame to remove the info - as BLP tells us to do. - Arcayne (cast a spell) 17:13, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Shatner & Muppets

Okay, am I crazy, or did I see, probably in the mid-90s, something with Miss Piggy (I think) on a plane, where she looks out the window, and (parodying Shatner's Twilight Zone appearance) spots the gremlin on the plane's wing... and when she turns back and starts complaining, Shatner's sitting there and says "I've been saying the same thing for years" and goes on (IIRC) to extol one of his books (I think the first Mars one, Man o' War(?)). Anyway, anyone else have a clue what I'm talking about, or have I gone totally off the deep end? (I do know I'm not talking about the 3rd Rock thing already mentioned) --Umrguy42 (talk) 10:12, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] online resources for editors of this article

It's already been mentioned that some of the areas in this article need cleanup and better sources. An interview with Shatner was drawn to my attention today, and seems like a decent source for this article:

May 2008 Interview with Shatner in Daily Telegraph

I encourage other people to add more here in the talk page. Some of these might wind up as external links for the article, but they are also useful as sources for editors of the article. - StrangeAttractor (talk) 01:55, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Shatner's new book?

Can someone mention William Shatner's new book--Up Till Now: The Autobiography, his third autobiography--in the Wikipedia article for him. It is absent from the article. I don't know if it is a good book but it seems to have won reasonable reviews. [3] Shatner also apparently talks about Leonard Nimoy and his wife Nerine's unhappy relationships with alcoholism in this new book. [4] Unfortunately, I have to work in real life but maybe some Trekkies can note this addition to Shatner's article. 24.87.136.31 (talk) 08:51, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

The Only thing I added to Shatner's article was his favourite Trek episode--The Devil in the Dark. I know almost nothing on this new book. Perhaps someone can make an addition to the article. 24.87.136.31 (talk) 01:27, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Toupee or not toupee?

That is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the article to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous vandals,
Or to take arms against a sea of contrary edits,
And by opposing improve them? To note the wig, the piece;
Or not; and by not mentioning to say that BLP ends
The heartache and the thousand natural questions
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a confirmation
Devoutly to be wish'd via citation. To confirm, to cite;
To cite, perchance to prove; aye, there's the rub.
- Arcayne (cast a spell) 16:55, 29 May 2008 (UTC)